[dataway]

Unfortunately I think the days of corporate loyalty to customers are over. I have zero expectations that State Farm gives a hoot about my 40 years of patronage, or any other company I have a long term relationship with. I think they have learned that from a cost benefit analysis that expending resources to satisfy a few customers just isn't worth it, unlike a few decades ago when the actual corporate honor or reputation might have been a factor.

Much the same in modern corporate/employee relationships ... they just don't care if you've been there 30 years. In fact they consider you a liability if you've been there that long. It's a different world now, more dog eat dog than ever. Glad I'm no longer part of that. Lots of reasons for it, most of them not nefarious, technology has changed a lot of things.

[Jim Moshier]

I hate to say this but Now loyalty only goes so far anymore! insurance companies it never has! It's a risk-reward for them and not about doing the right thing!

[JSuchma]

Originally Posted by Jim Moshier

I hate to say this but Now loyalty only goes so far anymore! Insurance companies it never has! It's a risk-reward for them and not about doing the right thing!

That is so correct. I do contract work for auto body repair shops and you should see what the insurance companies are doing to save money and not give it back to their customers in time of need. To speed up the job and get the customer out of rentals to save money. How about putting used or after-market parts on newer vehicles. I am talking about one and two-year-old models!

[unruhjonny]

Originally Posted by dataway

Unfortunately I think the days of corporate loyalty to customers are over. I have zero expectations that State Farm gives a hoot about my 40 years of patronage...

I am only speaking up because you mention State Farm;
I liked state farm, and I liked my agent;
I figured I wasn't getting great rates from them, and I was a client of just over twenty years;
I figured I wasn't getting any sort of preffered rate when I found that my 1991 Grand Am was classified as a "sports car" (and getting a bump in premium accordingly) just because it was a two door vehicle;
I again was shocked at the rate I was to be charged after I bought my Cobalt;
When I showed my agent the comparable rates a couple years later (I was astonished how much of a discount I could get from their rates), he just shrugged his shoulders and walked out of the office (he normally had an employee in the common area deal with me) - that was the end of that.

Banks, insurance companies, no matter they all see you as a means to money - and nothing more;
Unfortunately these companied do NOT care about you, or your patronage.

[poncho-mike]

I got rear ended in traffic in my commuter a few years ago. I had a nice receiver hitch with the ball installed, which hit the other car's frame. My car didn't have much exterior damage, but it broke one muffler hanger and damaged the subframe. My trailer hitch was angled down about 15 degrees after the impact. The insurance low balled me. The car was high mileage, and I wasn't sure if I would ever trust towing again with a unibody, so I wanted them to pay out the claim. Their adjuster low balled me, wouldn't even look under the car to check for frame damage. He said replacing the receiver would solve the hitch issue. They wanted to give me $800, but I had an estimate for double that. They refused to talk, and said they wouldn't consider my estimate.

I sent down to the local courthouse and filed a claim in small claims court against the other driver. Suddenly they wanted to talk. They wanted to see my estimate and documentation. I told them I would see them in court. They ended up paying me out my estimate, filing costs, and $500 for the trouble to avoid having to send a lawyer down to court to deal with me.

My claim was small, but I got what I was after with a little effort.

[GOAT8U2]

I have both my cars actually appraised, then insured for that value. As time and mods get done I pay to get it updated.

This situation sucks, but you need to spend $200 on an appraisal to save you thousands of dollars and time later or as you saw, you'll get the lowest possible offer and spend a ton of time fighting them.

My GN got rear ended in June, soft hot luckily, Progressive offered me $2200 on a $18k bill, subrogation, I got 100% paid for and my $100 deductible back.
Appraisal for the win.

[Ben M.]

USAA does not do agreed value insurance on cars. They exclusively use KBB databases for car values, no matter how nice they are. I went through this a number of years ago and they told me if I wanted the actual value of the car I needed to use a specialty insurance company (they worked with one they recommended, Hagerty, etc). They also don't do gap insurance anymore (since 2019) so if you think you have it, surprise, you don't.

You aren't going to win in a fight with them, despite everyone telling you to report them or file a complain - even if you file all the complaints they are too big and too ingrained in the system and economy for your complaint to cause them to do a thing to change and no one is going to enforce it. Every time I've discussed a bad finding with 3rd parties they always come back and tell me "oh, it's USAA. Yeah we're not fighting them because we won't win."

I've had them for 25 years and just got a note yesterday informing me they are terminating my insurance on multiple cars because the wife got 2 speeding tickets this year and she is an unacceptable risk for them. I can appeal and submit in writing that she won't be allowed to use my cars and maybe get my insurance back. They are definitely not the company they used to be, where taking care of their members was the most important thing.

[GOAT8U2]

Sorry to say, if they don't do agreed value, this was known, then you took the risk of cheaper monthly payments vs the potential risk. It sucks but that's the relationship you entered into then, gotta bail now.

My American Family does agreed value, not just Haggerty or Grundy etc will take care of valuable cars. The reason you go to Haggerty or Grundy is because of this very sneaky insurance aspect they don't let people know about...

Total Loss
Or
Total Loss Formula

The above is why if you have a valuable car, gotta go Haggerty or Grundy.

[71GP76TA]

$75,000ish car by the book

[1965gp]

I wont buy another one- after researching it they are too easy to steal, and right now one of if not the most popular car to steal.

I didn’t need gap insurance because we only owe like $35k on it. We put the money from our last Hellcat down on it.

Honestly im not going to put that much money and effort into a car that can be taken that easily. We will probably buy a used Lexus or something- not spending this amount of money again. Even with the starter kill, you still have to turn it off on your phone each time which kind of seems like a pain in the a$$.

I don’t know anyone that has an agreed value for a daily driver- if anyone knows of a company that does that I would be interested in finding out who. It was plenty expensive as it was with two teenagers on the policy.

Someone called me today from USAA asking if they could try to make it right- we will see what happens….

[JLMounce]

Agreed value policies almost never work for daily drivers because there are usually usage stipulations involved with such a policy. I know when I was shopping insurance on my bird that both Grundy and Hagerty were pleasure use only. Basically to and from car shows and periodic cruises. They didn't want to see the car in parking lots and stipulated mileages around 4500 per year. I wanted to use my Firebird as I wanted to, so I have a stated value policy with State Farm that allows me to use the car as I see fit. It's not "agreed" value, but it's underwritten at a certain value. I could get screwed if something happens, but I'm aware of that risk and choose it so that I can use my car as I see fit.

[jhein]

First off, it really sucks that some scumbag criminals stole your car. That really sucks and I hope one day they get what they deserve.

Next, it also sucks that you'll be out some money based on what you feel the car is worth. And from your description of the car, you're probably right, it would be worth more on the open market because of all the things you said.

OTOH, from the perspective of the insurance company, it would be a bad business model to follow if they started paying out the highest possible value for cars that are "special" in some way(s). I look at it more like we have insurance to prevent a catastrophic total loss due to damage or theft, not to prevent any loss at all. Rates would be a lot higher if that were the case.

I think if they are offering you around 90% of what you feel the car was worth, that's probably not unreasonable. I'm basing that on your stated value of 82K and them offering you 10k less, and they subsequently came up a bit on their offer (if I understood all that correctly).

Anyway, the whole thing is not good but I hope you come away with the least amount of damage possible. It does sound like you've made some progress with them so hopefully you can squeeze a bit more out of them. Good luck!

[The Champ]

Originally Posted by 1965gp

It’s really a shame- I only moved my collector cars to Hagerty because a USAA rep told me I was severely underinsured and there was no way I would ever get $60k for a 1969 Dodge.

I asked for 82k for the car. In my market (Houston) you are hard pressed to get a Hellcat Charger that hasn’t been wrecked for less than 76-78k. Throw in the low miles, Daytona package, sunroof, nav and carbon package I felt $82k was fair market value

A couple of thoughts.

1. Hagerty would have insured your Hellcat. Too late to do that now, but future reference.

2. Assuming that you do want to replace the car, tell USAA that you want them to replace the car with one with the same options and mileage. You aren't asking for a cash amount, you want the car. USAA is liable for car replacement, which includes the car and the sales tax, less your deductible. If you don't want to replace this car, but this kind of car actually can be sold for much more than they are offering, do this anyway and then sell it.

When you get off the dollar amount and they are forced into actually replacing the car with another Hellcat like you had (not a generic white plain jane Hellcat), that should help speed up a fair settlement.

[Cammer-6]

too late now but does anyone even use lojack or similar tracking tags?
they are still popular with the heavy equipment crowd

[kingbuzzo]

& then give that hellcat to me...I know what to do with it

I have an old camry (just like Lexus) laying around - unbreakable

Jokes! 🤡

I have been looking at a cell or even a cheap airtag solution for my bird.

[GOAT8U2]

I use Prime Tracking
https://primetracking.com/products/safetrack

About $200 year
Newest versions module battery lasts pretty long, over 3 weeks then needs charging.
10 second updated tracking when in use.
It'll track in real time on a map with mph
You set info like, 0-5pm limit hit, it left your home zone, 5mph over speed limit hit etc.
Updates in app and email notifications.

I have 2 total, use in GTO and GN, totally worth it.

[71GP76TA]

Originally Posted by 1965gp

I wont buy another one- after researching it they are too easy to steal, and right now one of if not the most popular car to steal.

I didn’t need gap insurance because we only owe like $35k on it. We put the money from our last Hellcat down on it.

Honestly im not going to put that much money and effort into a car that can be taken that easily. We will probably buy a used Lexus or something- not spending this amount of money again. Even with the starter kill, you still have to turn it off on your phone each time which kind of seems like a pain in the a$$.

I don’t know anyone that has an agreed value for a daily driver- if anyone knows of a company that does that I would be interested in finding out who. It was plenty expensive as it was with two teenagers on the policy.

Someone called me today from USAA asking if they could try to make it right- we will see what happens….

My '21 Scat Pack Widebody Challenger is insured through Hagerty at an agreed value. When I added it the rate doubled.

[vertigto]

FYI about Grundy's use policy from their website...

How Can I Use My Car?
Grundy wants you to enjoy your car, not keep track of mileage like some programs with limitations. Therefore, we give you unlimited miles for pleasure driving and in collector car-oriented activities. It is even OK if occasionally you drive your collector car to work to show it off to friends. However, your collector car must not be used as a daily driver. We require you and all licensed drivers in your household to have a modern car for everyday use.

When you have your car at home, it must be kept in an enclosed, secure garage when not in use. If you are away from home on extended outings your car is fully protected if you must park it outside, for example in a hotel parking lot. Grundy coverage includes Trip Interruption that reimburses you for hotel and repair costs in the event of a breakdown, and we also reimburse you for towing and labor charges up to $250. You can count on Grundy as you cruise.

[Mr Anonymous]

To the OP, have you tried someone like Collision Safety Consultants to help you get more out of them?

[Greg Reid]

In my opinion, no one should keep the same insurance company for that long without shopping around. My wife and I recently reduced our car and home insurance costs drastically when we saw how much it had risen over the last 25 years. It just creeps up. We went from Geico to Farm Bureau for home and auto. Same coverage for one third the cost!